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I have a lite 12 oz 2/3 uq, I have sewed a under dover under the undercover of lite .3oz cuben . it weighs little, it protects against wind and underspray. In my hands I have had no trouble with condensation. gnome

Again, I appreciate the advice. I'm the worst noobie of them all; the noobie who is still waiting for his hammock to arrive. What I'm trying to accomplish is the warmest system with the least $$. I'll put in the effort and don't mind the trial and error but, of course, would like to come close asap.

Ramblin-My thought was that I could take the template for the KAQ and cut the silnylon with that. The 2 peices was to double it up. I think you may have thought I meant to sew it up the middle. But if I understand you correctly, you are saying that a proper undercover needs to be more precise than the underquilt and if it's not perfect, it will not perform. Where as you can get away with a little more slop with the UQ. Is that correct?

I know I've been a PITA with this and I really appreciate the time. I've got the bug pretty bad and lie awake nights trying to come up with a low cost solution to staying warm in the back country this winter. I've made the mistake of bragging to my ground dwelling friends about my new hammock and will eat some serious crow if I end up next to them in my bivy this winter. I figured the material for the undercover would cost less than a full DIY UQ and I could stuff a sleeping bag, pad and SB in the UC with a 0* bag (all gear I already have) in the hammock and see how cold that gets me.

Thanks for coming along for the ride and I appologize if you all have to repeat your advice to another hammock stung noobie virgin.

Ramblin-My thought was that I could take the template for the KAQ and cut the silnylon with that.

If memory serves I tried that and was not pleased with the result. YMMV

I may be slow... But I sure am gimpy.

"Bless you child, when you set out to thread a needle don't hold the thread still and fetch the needle up to it; hold the needle still and poke the thread at it; that's the way a woman most always does, but a man always does t'other way."
Mrs. Loftus to Huck Finn

Coming late to this, but I have some "Tarp Clips" from the hardware store (maybe .5 oz each?)- they pinch over the edge of the fabric, then there is a slider that holds them in place, and have a hole for cord/string/lanyard. perhaps something like this could be used to turn an open sleeping bag directly into an UQ? then the undercover or weathershield could hang looser, as it will not be supporting the insulation.
HTH, KM

You might want to try your system out in the back yard a few nights-------the whole "how to stay warm in cool weather" thing is the hardest part of hammock camping and there is a learning curve-------give your self some time to work the kinks out before you head out into the wilderness!

Survival tube

I tried the cargo net setup with an old down sleeping bag, but it was just too heavy and the net kept getting in the way of entering the HH etc. Also, once the bag got wet (rain or fog), it started to sag, thereby ruining its insulating properties. I finally ditched the down bag/cargo net and tried a $35 survival tube. It works great. I posted info about it under the thread "Hammock UQ". I later added a 2nd tube to the top to create a complete "cocoon" (total investment: $70 for 2 tubes and about $10 for some clips to connect the top and bottom together). Each tube weighs about 1 pound. Good luck.

what i have been using for my underquilt is reflex insulation...same stuff the truck sunscreen is made out of, i slide that into a fleece sleeping bag liner and put my z-rest under that in my HH.
works good for what i paid for it $5 for the fleece sleeping bag liner,the reflex was leftover from work i was doing around the house,and the z-rest was $20ish
this winter i plan on making my first down 2/3 underquilt

insulation hammock

Originally Posted by teletrekker

... some kind of mesh/cargo net ...

I'm developing something similar (I call it an insulation hammock). Lightweight (< 1 oz/yd^2) fabric (for windbreak, mosquito resistance, and containment of that which might otherwise fall through the net) is suspended from a net (with large openings) which supports most of the load and keeps the contents from sliding around too much.

I prefer not to carry a dedicated bottom quilt, unless conditions demand it. Usually, I can get enough insulation by reusing what I'm already carrying (extra clothing, the pack itself, &c.), in combination with natural debris (dead/dried plant matter, &c.).

It may be beyond your budget, but if you want to keep it light, I suggest braided UHMWPE (Dyneema/Spectra) fishing line. It's widely available, and cheaper than other alternatives (like BPL's AirCore; actually, I imagine they're just relabelling the same products). TUF-Line is a good choice and it's easy to find (it also comes in olive green ). Ron's Tackle can special order any of their products which you can't find elsewhere.